Book Review: Remarkables

“One minute they’re there: laughing and having fun at the house next door. The next minute, the teens are gone. Like magic. Marin can’t believe her eyes. Who are they? Can anyone else see them? What makes them so happy?

Marin is lonely in this new town of hers and eager to figure out more. Then she meets Charley, who reveals that he knows about them, too.

He calls them the “Remarkables.” Charley warns her to stay away from the Remarkables—and him. Charley and Marin both have painful secrets they’re holding on to, but could solving the mystery of the Remarkables help them both?” (from Goodreads)

First off, I just LOVE this cover. 😉

Okay, actual review time. I think this is the fifth book I’ve read by this author, so by now I know the drill. Middle-grade aged MC who runs into something speculative and has some really cool, hard questions raised. I honestly love the formula.

This book was soooo much more than that, though, and it’s really hard to describe how I felt as I read it. I was certainly gobsmacked by the rich depth of it. The themes and the main character and everything made me feel so seen and echo “yes” inside over and over. Marin was such a relatable character, never mind I’m more than twice her age. Particularly her guilt over things said and unsaid and her trying not to be a burden during all the changes. 😉 Her care for her baby brother (and their adorable alliance) and her love for her family were so amazing. Her parents were honestly really adorable and real. XD (And I loved the long overdue father/daughter talk.) Also, kudos for a portrayal of a positive church experience.

The speculative elements were there in this one, though absolutely not in the way I was expecting. The plot twists were ammmaaaazzzing, and I did cry at the final message. It’s really such a hopeful book, and one I needed, methinks. ❤

Just a note, there are some mentions of a death SPOILER ALERT! in a fire that happened several years before the story END OF SPOILER, and one character’s parents are addicts.

I can’t choose a best quote because the entire book and all the prose is beautiful.

Altogether, I really loved this book, and I think it’s the author’s best one yet.

(Oh, and Anna read it too and liked it. Read her review here.)